As a Democratic official you definitely want to hear the word “complete” or “full” attached to “confidence” when your name is mentioned by the president or White House staff.

But that’s not the word that White House spokesman Josh Earnest chose Thursday to describe President Barack Obama’s confidence in Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Floridian who heads the Democratic National Committee.

Instead the word was “strong,” a distinction immediately jumped on by White House reporters in the wake of two articles published late Wednesday that reported Democrats’ growing dissatisfaction with the DNC chief.

Earnest was asked more than once if Obama had complete confidence in Wasserman Schultz, who articles in Politico and Buzzfeed painted as in a behind-the-scenes struggle with Democrats and the White House.

To be sure, Earnest listed the congresswoman’s accomplishments, including leading the DNC as it retired its 2012 campaign debt. She has produced “important results for the Democratic Party,” Earnest said.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday it’s up to the president to keep Wasserman Schultz as head of the DNC. Reid called the congresswoman a friend but skirted a question about whether she is a liability for Democrats heading into November’s elections.